| NEBRASKA GAME AND PARKS COMMISSION | Tuesday, January 06, 2009 | ||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| ||||
 |
|||||||||
|
| home >> hunting >> guides >> waterfowl |
|
PERMITS REQUIRED TO HUNT WATERFOWL:
For Nebraska Residents, 16 years old or older, who hunt waterfowl must have:
For Nebraska Residents, 12 to 15 years old, who hunt waterfowl must have:
For Nebraska Residents, 10 and 11 years old, who hunt waterfowl must:
For Nebraska Residents, under 10 years old, who hunt waterfowl must:
All hunters 16 years old and older who hunt waterfowl may purchase the Federal
Migratory Bird Stamp (Duck Stamp) at U.S. Post Offices. The Duck Stamp is valid through
June 30 of the following year.
Harvest Information Program (HIP) REGISTRATION
Anyone planning to hunt ducks, geese, coots, doves, snipe, rail or woodcock in Nebraska must register with the Harvest Management Program (HIP) before hunting -- even if they registered in another state or in previous years. The goal of the program, required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, is to help state and federal wildlife managers estimate the number of migratory birds harvested each year. The estimates will help biologists set limits and seasons and help protect the tradition of hunting. The lack of information on hunting's effect on wildlife has been used in court to challenge hunting in some states. HIP will provide the information needed to counter such claims. All migratory game bird hunters, except residents under 16, must register. Hunters may register by clicking here or calling 1-877-634-8687 (1-877-NEHUNTS). Registration begins August 1.
The ability to identify a particular species of duck or goose swinging into a hunter's decoys plays an important part in waterfowl management. Because some species or populations of waterfowl need protection from hunting, different bag limits or other restrictions may be placed on some species. Hunters must be able to identify the species of duck or goose. Practice makes perfect and spending time in a marsh is a great way to improve your waterfowl identification skills. Waterfowl Management - The Flyway System
Waterfowl are considered an international resource, because of their migratory nature. Because they cross national and state boundaries, management of the waterfowl resource needs international cooperation and coordination. Since 1948, waterfowl have been managed by four administrative Flyways - based on their general migration pathways of waterfowl - which are Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific Flyways. Each Flyway is a formal organization composed of one member from each State and Province in that Flyway with representation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), and other government and non-governmental agencies. The Flyways are involved in many aspects of migratory bird management, including development of recommendations for hunting regulations and assisting in research and habitat management activities. Nebraska is part of the Central Flyway, along with the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest territories. Learn more about the Flyway system at www.Flyways.us. The website was developed by the USFWS through a collaborative effort of biologists and waterfowl managers across North America's four waterfowl flyways. The website also contains reports from USFWS and CWS biologists who conduct the annual Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey, the primary tool used to track the status of waterfowl populations and their habitats in North America. Other reports and information relevant to the management of waterfowl management also can be found on the website. Only Non-toxic Shot: Only those types of nontoxic shot (steel, coated steel,
bismuth-tin, tungsten-bronze, tungsten-tin-bismuth, tungsten-iron, tungsten-polymer, tungsten-matrix,
tungsten-nickel-iron and tungsten-nickel-iron-tin, or tungsten-iron-copper-nickel) or those allowed by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are allowed.
2008 SEASONS
Merganser Bag / Possession Limits: Mergansers - 5 daily, which may include no more than 2 hooded mergansers. Mergansers do not count toward the conventional system for daily and possession bag limits. Possession limit is two legal daily bags.
Dark Geese: East Unit: Oct. 25 - Jan. 28, 2009 North Central Unit: Oct. 11 - Jan. 23, 2009 Platte River Unit: Oct. 25 - Feb. 6, 2009 Panhandle Unit: Nov. 8 - Feb. 6, 2009 Niobrara Unit: Oct. 25 - Feb. 6, 2009 The daily bag limit for all units 3 geese and possession limit is twice the daily bag.
30 minutes before sunrise to sunset. When: Low Plains Zone - September 6-21, 2008 and High Plains Zone - September 13-21, 2008. Where: Low Plains Zone - The area that lies east of a line which begins at the juncture of U.S. Hwy. 30 and NE Hwy. 47 in Dawson County; south on NE Hwy. 47 to NE Hwy. 23, east on NE Hwy. 23 to U.S. Hwy. 283, south on U.S. Hwy. 283 to the Kansas-Nebraska border. High Plains Zone - The area that lies west of a line which begins at the juncture of U.S. Hwy. 30 and NE Hwy. 47 in Dawson County; south on NE Hwy. 47 to NE Hwy. 23, east on NE Hwy. 23 to U.S. Hwy. 283, south on U.S. Hwy. 283 to the Kansas-Nebraska border. What Species? Blue-winged, green-winged, and cinnamon teal. What is the Daily Bag and Possession Limits? 4 birds singly or in the aggregate of only those species listed. Possession limit is twice the daily bag. What are the Shooting Hours? 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset. Why Not All of Nebraska? Nebraska is considered a production state by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Under that constraint, the USFWS would only allow a teal season if Nebraska agreed to not open the season in the Sandhills Region, the main production area in Nebraska. Areas outside the Sandhills but adjacent to this region (e.g., northeastern portion of state) were not included because they were adjacent to the Sandhills and other production areas (i.e., South Dakota, Iowa, and Wyoming) and would not have been acceptable to the USFWS. Additionally, regulations were simplified by using this boundary designation. How Do you Identify Teal? Teal are small ducks, with rapid, erratic flight. They usually fly in tight, compact flights. Hunters can confuse wood ducks, shovelers, gadwall, and pintails with teal, but wood ducks have an unusual flight appearance and generally do not fly in flocks as large as teal. Gadwall and pintail are larger than teal and do not fly as rapidly and erratically. Shovelers are slightly larger than teal and their larger bill is a good identifying characteristic. Teal hens have a quick, raspy call that can also be used to separate them from other ducks while males have a one-note whistle or peep.Where Can I find Teal? Teal tend to prefer shallow water areas. Areas with lots of mud flats are usually a good indication that teal may be present. Rainwater Basin marshes, ponds, and reservoirs also can hold teal. Spend time scouting and looking for flocks of teal. Scouting will help you pinpoint those water areas that hold teal, and possibly also help you avoid areas where large numbers of non-target species are present. When: September 6-14, 2008 Where: That portion of the state south and west of a line beginning from the Iowa border west along U.S. Hwy. 30 to U.S. Hwy. 81, south to NE Hwy. 64, east to NE Hwy. 15, south to NE Hwy. 41, east to NE Hwy. 50, north to NE Hwy. 2, east to the Iowa border, except federal or state refuges unless otherwise authorized. What Species: Canada Geese only. Daily Bag & Possession Limit: Five birds daily; 10 in possession. Shooting Hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset. BACKGROUND: Similar to other states and provinces, Canada goose populations have increased in Nebraska in the past two decades. While this effort has resulted in substantially increasing hunting opportunities for Canada geese, it also has generated nuisance problems in some areas, most notably in the metropolitan areas of Lincoln and Omaha. Additionally, increases in Canada goose populations in these metropolitan areas may lead to serious concerns with human health and safety given proximity to local airports. Although a crisis situation has not been reached in terms of dealing with nuisance problems or populations, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) Wildlife Division staff does not foresee a decrease in the number of Canada geese or in the number of complaints. Indeed, staff expects both to increase in the relatively near future. These expectations are based on continued urban expansion of both cities leading to an increase in urban habitat for geese which concurrently decreases hunting opportunity, ultimately resulting in more conflicts as the frequency of interactions between Canada geese and humans occur. September seasons were initiated to assist in reducing resident Canada goose populations. The proposed area for this season would include the Lincoln and Omaha metropolitan areas and surrounding area. There has been, and continues to be, a history of nuisance Canada goose problems in this area. YOUTH WATERFOWL SEASON - September 27-28, 2008
Hunters must be 15 years old or younger. Resident youth hunters do not need any state or
federal permits or stamps but ages 12-15 are required to carry a Hunter Education certification
card while hunting. Nonresident youths are required to have a Nonresident Youth Hunting Permit and
Nebraska Habitat Stamp. The season is open for ducks, mergansers, geese and coots. The bag limit
is the same as during the regular season. Youth who are 12 through 15 years must be accompanied by a
person at least 18 years old. This adult need not be licensed to hunt. Youth younger than 12 must
be accompanied by a person at least 19 years old who possesses a valid Nebraska Hunting Permit.
The accompanying adult may not hunt waterfowl. Bag and possession limits are the same as the
regular season.
Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM) is the tool for selecting duck hunting regulations used by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the flyways and states. Key components of AHM are agreement on
goals of mallard harvest management, a limited number of regulatory alternatives, and alternative
models of population dynamics. The alternative models reflect disagreement among managers regarding
effects of hunting regulations on harvest and population size. With AHM, the setting of hunting
regulations involves a repeating process: 1) each year, an optimal regulation is identified based on
mallard population size and habitat status, and on the relative ability of alternative models to mimic
population dynamics; 2) after the regulatory decision is made, each population model is used to
predict mallard breeding population size the following year; 3) when monitoring data become available,
models that more accurately predict observed population size gain credibility, while those models
that are poor predictors lose credibility; 4) the new assessments of model credibility are used to
start another repeat of the process. AHM has reduced some of the contentiousness with setting duck
regulations and focused discussions on learning and improving our understanding of mallard population
dynamics. AHM has already increased our understanding of how hunting affects mallard populations
and has lead to some stability in annual hunting regulations. Major challenges to AHM in the
near future are incorporating or accommodating other duck species into the process, understanding
and deciding how the North American Waterfowl Management Plan goals should be used or not used in
the AHM process and if hunter satisfaction should take a role in determining which regulatory
alternative is selected by the AHM process.
LIGHT GOOSE CONSERVATION ACTION
Season Dates: Feb. 7 - Apr. 12, 2009 Shooting Hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
Zone Restrictions: see below
White and blue-phase snow geese and Ross' geese may be taken statewide during the Conservation Action, but different regulations apply in each zone. Zones 1 and Zone 2: The taking of light geese will be allowed four days a week (Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday) Beginning March 24th, hunting will be allowed 7 days per week. It will be illegal to take light geese: on federal or state sanctuaries and refuges, unless authorized; and on the following lands owned or managed by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Zone 1 Closed Areas: Massie WPA, Hultine WPA, Springer WPA, Wilkins WPA,
Pintail WMA, Verona WPA, Bluebill WMA, Eckhardt WPA, Nelson WPA, Kirkpatrick Basin North WMA,
Swan Creek WMA. Closed within 1/2 mile of the Platte River outermost channel from U.S.
Hwy. 281 to NE Hwy. 14.
Zone 2 Closed Areas: Funk WPA, Prairie Dog WPA, Bluestem WPA, Lindau
WPA, and Clark WPA. It is illegal to hunt light geese within 0.5 miles of the outer channel of
the north and south sides of the Platte River. By federal regulation, the no-hunt zone expands to
5 miles between March 11 and April 16 to provide protection for endangered whooping cranes.
Zone 3: The taking of light geese will be allowed seven days a week
throughout Zone 3 except on federal or state sanctuaries and refuges unless otherwise authorized.
By federal regulation, it is illegal to take light geese within 5 miles of the outside
channel of the Platte River between U.S. 283 and U.S. 281 between March 11 and April 16.
Only shotguns 10 gauge or smaller may be used for game birds.
All blinds must be removed daily from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission wildlife
management areas except at the following reservoirs: Calamus, Elwood, Enders (refuge portion only)
Lewis and Clark, McConaughy, Medicine Creek, Merritt, Red Willow, Sherman and Swanson. At these
lakes, temporary blinds may be built but they must be removed at the end of the waterfowl season.
Use of these blinds is on a first-come, first-served basis, except for Lewis and
Clark. A special permit is required and different regulations apply for blinds on
Lewis and Clark. Contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (402)667-7873, ext. 3245 or 3247
for details.
Federal (US Fish and Wildlife Service) leg bands recovered from birds taken can now be reported
via the Internet at www.reportband.gov or by phone at 800/327-2263. Information needed is:
band number, species of bird, hunter name and address and date and location of harvest. Location
should include county and distance and direction from nearest town. Some bands have this number
imprinted on them but all bands can be reported at this number. The toll-free number is ONLY
to be used to report bands.
|
| Top |
| NEBRASKA GAME AND PARKS COMMISSION | ||||
2200 N. 33rd St., Lincoln, NE 68503 • (402) 471-0641 • | ||||